System and method for administering insurance discounts for mobile device disabling technology

ABSTRACT

A system and method for processing and administering insurance policy premium discounts for mobile device disabling technology to promote safer driver is disclosed. An insurance policy premium discount is determined based on the level of disabling technology implemented by a user on a user&#39;s mobile device.

BACKGROUND

Distracted driving or more specifically, using a mobile device forelectronic mail, texting, surfing the internet or other uses has becomethe leading cause of accidents in modern society. Generally, theyoungest and most inexperienced drivers are most at risk, with 16% ofall distracted driving crashes involving drivers under 20 years of age.At any given moment during daylight hours, over 800,000 vehicles arebeing driven by someone using a hand-held mobile device. Texting is themost alarming distraction because it involves manual, visual, andcognitive distraction simultaneously while driving. Sending or reading atext takes the driver's eyes off the road for several seconds, enough tocause a serious accident. Even hands free type systems are not effectiveas research indicates that the cognitive distraction of having ahands-free phone conversation causes drivers to miss the importantvisual and audio cues that would ordinarily help one avoid a crash.

Accidents related to distracted driving due to mobile device usage havebeen attributed to billions of dollars of damage in the United States.In fact, distracted driving has replaced alcohol as the number onesafety concern of the driving public. In fact, distracted driving is theprimary killer of American teens now. Commercial transportationcompanies, including marine transportation providers, are also facingunprecedented liability due to distracted driving accidents. Distractionthrough cell phone use whether a call comes in, responding to a text orbrowsing the internet is putting all drivers or anyone on or near theroad in danger. Many companies have also instituted distracted drivingpolicies and guidelines. In order to eliminate unnecessary risk behindthe wheel, many companies have created policies and guidelines whereemployees may not engage in activities that distract them from operatinga company vehicle at all times, including for personal use and anon-company vehicle while traveling on or conducting company business,for example, travel between company offices or to and from the office iftaking a work-related call. Such policies include prohibitions usingelectronic devices such as mobile or cellular telephones, laptops,handheld organizers, Global Positioning Systems (“GPS”), and tablets.Companies have made managers and employees responsible for adherence tosuch company policies and guidelines and have stated that failure to doso may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Accordingly, what is needed are effective ways to encourage and promotesafe driving for both individuals and companies and their employees andto promote driving without active use of a mobile device.

SUMMARY

The present invention in some embodiments relates to a system forproviding a mobile device related discount to an insurance customer byan insurance company for an automobile insurance policy issued by theinsurance company, comprising: one or more data storage devices storinga database having data related to a plurality of mobile device disablingtechnologies and a plurality of discount levels; and an insurance rulesprocessor configured to: receive data from the insurance customerindicative of the insurance customer's selection of one of the pluralityof mobile device disabling technologies; correlate the insurancecustomer's selected mobile device disabling technology to one of theplurality of discount levels; determine an insurance premium for theinsurance policy based on the correlated discount level; transmit thedetermined premium to the insurance customer's mobile device; andperiodically verify use of the selected mobile device disablingtechnology.

In embodiments, a computerized method for providing an automobileinsurance discount to an insurance customer by an insurance company,includes: storing data in one or more data storage devices related to aplurality of insurance policies, a plurality of mobile device disablingtechnologies and a plurality of discount levels associated with each ofthe plurality of mobile device disabling technologies; receiving by acommunications interface periodic customer eligibility data related tothe insurance customer's use of a mobile device disabling technology;processing in one or more processors the eligibility data to determine adiscount level for the insurance customer from the plurality of discountlevels; and transmitting by the communications interface the discountlevel to a device of the insurance customer.

In embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storesinstructions adapted to be executed by a computer processor to perform amethod associated with a determining discounts for automobile insurancepolicies, said method comprising storing data related to mobile devicesuppression technology data and policy premium discounts; receivingeligibility data related to a mobile device suppressing technologyassociated with a user; assigning a discount based on the mobile devicesuppressing technology; determining a policy premium based on thediscount assigned; and transmitting the policy premium to the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description,given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary computer architecture that may be used forpolicy data administration and management;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary system that may be used for the management ofpolicy data;

FIG. 3 shows exemplary system screen display of an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows exemplary timeline of an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 shows exemplary process of an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 shows exemplary database of an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 7 shows another exemplary device of an illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed herein are processor-executable methods, computing systems,and related technologies for the processing and administration ofinsurance premium discounts based on technologies related to disabling,suppressing and/or preventing use of mobile devices during driving.Embodiments of the present invention correlate a determinedeffectiveness of the mobile phone disabling technology with a certainautomobile insurance discount to provide a user during the term of anautomobile insurance policy issued by an insurance company. Generally,the more restrictive the mobile phone disabling technology is, thelarger the discount provided to the user. For example, a disablingtechnology that completely prohibits mobile device using during drivingwill be associated or correlated with the largest discount as opposed toa technology that allows a user access, albeit with one or morerestrictions, to the phone during driving.

Many different technologies are available now and being developed forlimiting, disabling, suppressing or prohibiting all or portions offunctionality of mobile devices. Many of these technologies are softwareor app based in the phones and many use location based services,telematics type technology and global positioning type technology toassist with determining if an individual is driving. For example, onetechnology limits certain features on the phone, and then automaticallysends pre-set replies to incoming texts to let people know that the useris driving. Once the app is selected by the driver, all calls, texts andemails are silenced, and the app blocks the driver from reading ortyping anything. This system does offer the option to receive and makecalls with up to five people, plus 911, and allows access to a certainfunctions such as a music playlist. To the extent that the disablingtechnology or suppressing technology allows access to certain phonefunctionality, the technology cannot be classified as being completelyeffective in preventing distracted driving.

Many other disabling technologies rely on text to speech type technologyto read aloud text messages or emails aloud to the driver instead ofcompletely blocking incoming messages. While helpful, these technologiesstill are less effective than those that completely prohibit phone use.Another technology uses GPS to determine the speed at which the car ismoving and if traveling more than a certain miles per hour (mph) like 10mph, the application will disable texting, so the driver cannot receiveor respond to texts. If the user removes this application from thephone, the app notifies the owner, typically a parent, by text. Thetechnology does let the driver unlock messages when going less than 10mph. This type of technology can be considered to be fairly restrictive.

Another type of disabling or suppressing technology blocks texting andspeaking while a vehicle is in motion and sends an automatic “Driving”or “Busy” message to anyone who texts or calls. This technology can alsobe customized to block text messages or calls at certain times of theday or near certain locations, such as a school or workplace. Thistechnology may also be classified or categorized as fairly effective asthe driver is not distracted by visual or auditory messages whiledriving.

FIG. 1 shows an example system 100 that may be used for theadministration and management of automobile insurance discounts based onmobile device disabling technologies. Architecture 100 may be operatedby an insurance company that includes an insurance data system 110, aweb system 120, an insurance or agent terminal 130, and a network 140.System 100 also includes one or more users 150, such as an automobilepolicyholder or applicant for an insurance policy. User 150 operates anautomobile 160 or other motor vehicle such as a motorcycle or truck orother form of transportation such as a boat or other motorizedwatercraft, plane or other aircraft, otherwise in conjunction with andhaving access to one or more mobile devices 170.

Insurance data system 110 may include a communications interface 112, aninsurance rules processor 114, an applicant/insureds informationdatabase 116 and discount and technology information database 118 thatmay comprise an insurance company subsystem 180. In one embodiment, aterminal or computer 130, one or more users 150 and insurance companysubsystem 180 are in communication via network 140. Insurance companysubsystem 180 shown in FIG. 1 is an embodiment of a subsystem that mightbe implemented solely within the corporate office headquarters of afinancial services/insurance company or be an aggregation of one or moreother subsystems including one or more partner, third partyadministrator and/or vendor subsystems to allow communications and datatransfer between the insurance company and claims representatives,adjusters, insurance customers, and insurance agents. Data transferredthrough network 140 to insurance subsystem 180 may pass through one ormore firewalls or other security type controls implemented within websystem 120. The firewall allows access to network 140 only throughpredetermined conditions/ports. In another embodiment, the firewallrestricts the Internet IP addresses that may access web system 120.

Referring to FIG. 1 still, insurance rules processor 114 may include oneor more business rules and one or more predictive models in conjunctionwith one or more software modules or objects and one or morespecific-purpose processor elements to perform the processing requiredby embodiments of the present invention such as for correlating mobiledevice disabling technology with certain discounts and discount levelsfor policyholders and applicants, determining, based on applicablediscounts based on correlated discount levels for mobile devicedisabling technology, an insurance premium, as well as for verifying andvalidating the mobile device disabling technology.

The applicant/insureds information database 116 may store information,data and documents that relate to insurance applications and/orinsureds' policies such as automobile and/or fleet related policyinformation. The policies to which discounts are applicable may includepersonal automobile policies, business policies including vehiclepolicies, workers compensation policies and group benefits policies,including short term disability, long term disability, and group lifeinsurance policies. Discount and technology information database 118 maystore information, data and documents related to applicable discountsand associated mobile device disabling technology information. Forexample, discount and technology information database 118 may storeinformation such as shown in table 190. Applicant/insureds' informationdatabase 116 and discount and technology information database 118 may bestored in one or more computer-readable storage media, and may be orinclude one or more relational databases, hierarchical databases,object-oriented databases, one or more flat files, one or morespreadsheets, and/or one or more structured files. Applicant/insureds'information database 116 and discount and technology informationdatabase 118 may be managed by one or more database management systems(not depicted), which may be based on a technology such as Microsoft SQLServer, MySQL, Oracle Relational Database Management System (RDBMS),PostgreSQL, a NoSQL database technology, and/or any other appropriatetechnology.

Communication between the insurance data system 110 and the otherelements in the example system 100 of FIG. 1 may be performed via thecommunications interface module 112 interacting within subsystem 180.The insurance data system 110 may access and communicate with userdevice 170 via communications interface 112 such as to provide mobiledevice disabling technology validation and verification.

Referring still to FIG. 1, web system 120 may provide a web interfacethat may be accessed directly by a user such as an insured, a claimsrepresentative, an insurance adjuster and other third party entityutilizing computer 130 and/or device 170. In certain embodiments,computer 130 and user device 170 can include, but are not limited tocellular telephones, other wireless communication devices, personaldigital assistants, pagers, laptop computers, tablet computers,smartphones, other mobile display devices, or combinations thereof. Inthe illustrative embodiment of present invention, computer 130 and userdevice 170 may communicate with the web site system 120 that may beoperated by or under the control of an insurance entity or other thirdparty entity such as an outsourced type entity or third partyadministrator type entity. The web site system 120 may generate one ormore web pages for access by client device 170 and may receiveresponsive information from client device 170 such as information as tothe insurance customer's selection of a mobile device disabilitytechnology and verification and validation information as toimplementation of the mobile device disabling technology on user device170. The web site system 120 may then communicate this information tothe insurance data system 110 for processing via communicationsinterface 112. The determined premium determined by insurance rulesprocessor 114 may be transmitted to the client device 170 by providingthe premium data to web site system 120, which generates one or more webpages including the premium data for display by a browser implemented onclient device 170.

The web site system 120 may include a web application module 122 and aHyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server module 124. The webapplication module 122 may generate the web pages that make up the website and that are communicated by the HTTP server module 124. Webapplication module 122 may be implemented in and/or based on atechnology such as Active Server Pages (ASP), PHP: HypertextPreprocessor (PHP), Python/Zope, Ruby, any server-side scriptinglanguage, and/or any other appropriate technology.

The HTTP server module 124 may implement the HTTP protocol, and maycommunicate HyperText Markup Language (HTML) pages and related data fromthe web site to/from computer 130 and/or client device 170 using HTTP.The HTTP server module 124 may be, for example, a Sun-ONE Web Server, anApache HTTP server, a Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)server, and/or may be based on any other appropriate HTTP servertechnology. The web site system 120 may also include one or moreadditional components or modules (not depicted), such as one or moreswitches, load balancers, firewall devices, routers, and devices thathandle power backup and data redundancy.

Referring still to FIG. 1, computer 130 and/or user device 170 mayinclude a web browser module 134, which may communicate data related tothe web site to/from the HTTP server module 124 and the web applicationmodule 122 in the web site system 120. Such a web browser module mayinclude and/or communicate with one or more sub-modules that performfunctionality such as rendering HTML (including but not limited toHTML5), rendering raster and/or vector graphics, executing JavaScript,and/or rendering multimedia content. Alternatively or additionally, theweb browser module 134 may implement Rich Internet Application (RIA)and/or multimedia technologies such as Adobe Flash, MicrosoftSilverlight, and/or other technologies. The web browser module 134 mayimplement RIA and/or multimedia technologies using one or web browserplug-in modules (such as, for example, an Adobe Flash or MicrosoftSilverlight plugin), and/or using one or more sub-modules within the webbrowser module 134 itself. The web browser module 134 may display dataon one or more displays that are included in or connected to the clientdevice 130, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) display, organiclight-emitting diode (OLED) display, touch screen or monitor. The clientdevice 130 may receive input from the user of the client device 130 frominput devices (not depicted) that are included in or connected to theclient device 130, such a mouse or other pointing device, or a touchscreen, and provide data that indicates the input to the web browsermodule 134.

The example architecture 100 of FIG. 1 may also include one or morewired and/or wireless networks within subsystem 180 via whichcommunications between the elements and components shown in the examplearchitecture 100 may take place. The networks may be private or publicnetworks, cloud or shared networks and/or may include the Internet.

Each or any combination of the components/modules 112 and 114 shown inFIG. 1 may be implemented as one or more software modules or objects,one or more specific-purpose processor elements, or as combinationsthereof. Suitable software modules include, by way of example, anexecutable program, a function, a method call, a procedure, a routine orsub-routine, one or more processor-executable instructions, an object,or a data structure. In addition or as an alternative to the features ofthese modules described above with reference to FIG. 1, these modules112 and 114 may perform functionality described later herein.

Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary computer system 200 for use in animplementation of the invention will now be described. Computer system200 may be configured to perform automobile insurance discountprocessing and management for one or more individual, business owner,fleet and/or company devices 202. System 200 may include a network 204,an insurance data system 206. In embodiments of the present invention,insurance data system 204 is responsible for the processing of insurancepolicies, discounts and mobile device disabling technology information.System 200 includes a computer sub-system 208 that may include a centralprocessing unit or processor 210 that executes instructions contained inprograms such as application program 214, stored in storage devices 220.Processor 210 may provide the central processing unit (CPU) functions ofa computing device on one or more integrated circuits. As used herein,the term “processor” broadly refers to and is not limited to a single-or multi-core general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, aconventional processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, amicrocontroller, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits(ASICs), one or more Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) circuits, anyother type of integrated circuit (IC), a system-on-a-chip (SOC), and/ora state machine.

Storage devices 220 may include suitable media, such as optical ormagnetic disks, fixed disks with magnetic storage (hard drives), tapesaccessed by tape drives, and other storage media. Processor 210communicates, such as through bus 211 and/or other data channels, withcommunications interface unit 212, storage devices 220, system memory230, and input/output controller 240. System memory 230 may furtherinclude non-transitory computer-readable media such as a random accessmemory 232 and a read only memory 234. Random access memory 232 maystore instructions in the form of computer code provided by application214 to implement embodiments of the present invention. System 200further includes an input/output controller 240 that may communicatewith processor 210 to receive data from user inputs such as pointingdevices, touch screens, and audio inputs, and may provide data tooutputs, such as data to video drivers for formatting on displays, anddata to audio devices.

Storage devices 220 are configured to exchange data with processor 210,and may store programs containing processor-executable instructions, andvalues of variables for use by such programs. Processor 210 isconfigured to access data from data storage devices 220, which mayinclude connecting to storage devices 220 and obtain data or read datafrom the storage devices, or place data into the storage devices.Storage devices 220 may include local and network accessible massstorage devices. Storage devices 220 may include media for storingoperating system 222 and mass storage devices such as storage 224 forstoring data related to insurance policies, discount information, mobiledevice disabling technology information and other related information.

Communications interface unit 212 may communicate via network 204 withother financial services/insurance company computer systems such asinsurance data system 206 as well as other servers, computer systems ofremote sources of data, and with systems for implementing instructionsoutput by processor 210. Insurance data system 206 may also beconfigured in a distributed architecture, wherein databases andprocessors are housed in separate units or locations. Some such serversperform primary processing functions and contain at a minimum, a RAM, aROM, and a general controller or processor. In such an embodiment, eachof these servers is attached to a communications hub or port that servesas a primary communication link with other servers, client or usercomputers and other related devices. The communications hub or port mayhave minimal processing capability itself, serving primarily as acommunications router. A variety of communications protocols may be partof the system, including but not limited to: Ethernet, SAP, SASTM, ATP,Bluetooth, GSM and TCP/IP. Network 206 may be or include wired orwireless local area networks and wide area networks, and overcommunications between networks, including over the Internet.

One or more public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud and cloud-likenetworks may also be implemented, for example, to handle and conductprocessing of one or more transactions or processing of embodiments ofthe present invention. Cloud based computing may be used herein tohandle any one or more of the application, storage and connectivityrequirements of embodiments of the present invention. For example one ormore private clouds may be implemented to handle mobile devicevalidation and verification of the present invention. Furthermore, anysuitable data and communication protocols may be employed to accomplishthe teachings of the present invention.

With reference still to FIG. 2, communications interface unit 212 isused for receiving user or a requesting user's mobile device disablingtechnology data related to the user or requesting user's policy requestsmade via the Web. Computer processor 210 executes program instructions,such as program instructions provided by application 214 to receive, viathe communications interface 212, insurance customer selection of mobiledevice disabling technology data, mobile device disabling technology useverification data and other related information. Database 224 mayinclude discount data, mobile device disabling technology data and othertransaction data such as historical data from the user or other thirdparties.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary screen configuration 300 of anautomobile discount insurance administration system as discussed withrespect to FIGS. 1 and 2. Screen 300 is configured to interface with arequesting user such as an individual, small business owner or companyfor requesting, verifying, and receiving automobile insurance coverageand a discount based on certain mobile device disabling technology 324implemented by the user on mobile device 320. Screen may be provided asa web page, a mobile device app or as a screen on an on board navigationscreen or heads up display within an automobile. Screen 300 may beconfigured with one or more input/selection areas such as areas orfields 330 and 340 for collecting user specific information such asinformation related to the user's name, mobile device number, devicetype and the type of mobile device disabling technology being used. Someor all of the requested information may be inputted by the user,provided automatically from device 320 or may be provided and accessedin real time by a third party or by the insurance company using databaseaccess, web crawling techniques or other access techniques. For example,an insurance company providing screen 300 may communicate in the backend with a third party wireless service provider associated with mobiledevice 320 to verify installation and/or use of a mobile devicedisabling technology. Screen 300 may be configured to communicate in theback end with a mobile phone app provider associated with mobile device320 to verify installation and/or use of a mobile device disabling app.Utilizing screen 300, a user may be able to control, manage andadministrate various aspects of the mobile disabling technology beingused such as setting various configuration aspects of the mobile devicedisabling technology. In other embodiments, all or portions offunctionality shown in screen 300 may be provided by a mobile appprovider whereby a user downloading a third party mobile devicedisabling app may be able to provide their insurance identifyinginformation to the third party app provider to initiate a discount withthe insurance entity. In this example, a user may be able to providetheir policy number or other identifying indicia via the third party appprovider page that would link to the insurance entity and initiate adiscount for use of the third party mobile device disabling app. By wayof example, the mobile app may be configured to provide an initialscreen on the phone interface with prompts for the user to enter orselect a carrier and to submit policy number or other identifyinginformation, such as name, address, vehicle information and otherinformation. The mobile app may then communicate the information to aninsurance company system, which, responsive to receipt of the data,determining that the data corresponds to an insurance policy eligiblefor a discount, implements a discount at a discount level correlating tothe type of technology implemented by the app.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary diagrammatic process flow timeline 400of an automobile insurance discount administration system as discussedwith respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. Timeline 400 illustrates an exemplaryautomobile insurance discount administration timeline process fromsignup through renewal including a new customer phase 410 a associatedwith a mobile device 420 a, an application phase 410 b associated with amobile device 420 b, an active policy phase 410 c associated with amobile device 420 c, a periodic phase 410 d associated with a mobiledevice 420 d and another renewal phase 410 e associated with a mobiledevice 420 e. Mobile devices 420 a-e are in communication with insurancedata system 430 throughout phases 410 a-e.

During new customer phase 410 a mobile device 420 a performs a sign upprocedure for one or more insurance coverages and associated discounts.This may be either for a new customer or an existing customer. Duringapplication phase 410 b mobile device 420 b is used to detect andvalidate a mobile device disabling technology. During an active policyphase 410 c mobile device 420 c implements the selected mobile devicedisabling technology and the user or customer benefits from theassociated discount correlated to that selected mobile device disablingtechnology. During a periodic phase 410 d, mobile device 420 d has tocommunicate with insurance data system 430 to verify that the selectedmobile device disabling technology is still activated or in use or atthe least that another one has been selected. During another subsequentrenewal phase 410 e, mobile device 420 e has again to communicate withinsurance data system 430 to verify that the selected mobile devicedisabling technology is still activated or at the least that another onehas been selected. Such verifications may also initiate a communicationto a policyholder, such as a parent with a child driver on the policy tonotify the parent if the mobile device disabling technology is stillactivated or has been disabled. The communication may be real timecommunication, such as a text message, automated voice phone call ore-mail. The communication to a policy holder may be a communication to asupervisor or other employer representative in the case of an employeecovered under a workers compensation policy, short term disabilitypolicy or long term disability policy or other employer insurancepolicy. In embodiments, in response to an insurance company systemreceiving a notification that a mobile device disabling technology hasbeen disabled or changed to a mobile device disabling technology havinga lower level of effectiveness, the discount may be discontinued, ormodified to the discount level correlated to the level of effectivenessof the new mobile device disabling technology. In other embodiments, theinsurance company system re-verifies or checks for receipt of averification message within a time period, thereby providing apolicyholder or policyholder representative time to reactivate orreinstall the mobile device disabling technology in accordance with thediscount. If the result of the re-verification following the time periodis that the mobile device disabling technology is still disabled orstill modified to the mobile device disabling technology having a lowerlevel of effectiveness, then the insurance company system will in thisembodiment terminate or modify the discount. Discount termination ormodification may be pro-rated based on the time period until receipt ofinitial notification or verification result of removal or change of themobile device disabling technology, or the loss of discount may beretroactive to commencement of a current policy term.

Verification may be performed by insurance data system polling orpinging the mobile device or the mobile device being used to activelycompose and send a communication such as an electronic mail message ortext confirming that the selected mobile device disabling technology isinstalled. For example, an app installed on the mobile device may beconfigured to test periodically for installed and operating mobiledevice disabling technology software on the device, such as by pollingconfiguration settings in the mobile device, checking error logsmaintained by the mobile device disabling technology software, checkinglogs of sent and received calls, text messages, website and application,including social media application, activity, and other steps, comparingthe results of the configuration settings, error logs, activity logs,and other data against one or more verification rules, and reporting theverification result. The verification result may be binary, e.g.,operating or not operating, or may indicate a confidence level of theresult. The verification rules may include checking for evidence of datatampering, such as empty text message logs; evidence of data tamperingmay be included in a message to the insurance data system. Theverification schedule may be periodic or aperiodic; aperiodicverification may provide a higher confidence level that the activitydata has not been tampered with. The mobile device may be configured tostore GPS data, which may be analyzed, based on rate of change oflocation, to identify periods of possible driving activity.Additionally, insurance data system 430 may communicate with a thirdparty service provider, such as a wireless service provider associatedwith the mobile device to verify installation and/or use of the mobiledevice disabling technology. The insurance data system may, responsiveto determining that the technology is no longer in use, update policyrecords to indicate that the discount is no longer applicable. Insurancecomputer systems may calculate amounts owed as a result of a loss of thediscount and bill the insurance consumer/policyholder/insured in theamount owed.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for administering automobile insurancediscounts that might be performed by some or all of the elements of thesystem 100 described with respect to FIG. 1 according to someembodiments of the present invention. The flow charts described hereindo not imply a fixed order to the steps, and embodiments of the presentinvention may be practiced in any order that is practicable. Note thatany of the methods described herein may be performed by hardware,software, or any combination of these approaches. For example, anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium may store thereoninstructions that when executed by one or more processors result inperformance according to any of the embodiments described herein.

At 510, data is stored in a database related to a plurality of insurancepolicies, a plurality of mobile device disabling technologies and aplurality of discount levels associated with each of the plurality ofmobile device disabling technologies. Stored data may be in the form ofdata table 190 shown in FIG. 1 that may include fields such as disablingtechnology, category and discount. Each of the fields may be correlatedand associated in a manner as prescribed by the insurance company sothat certain disabling technologies are associated with and correlatedto certain categories and certain discounts and discount levels.

At 520, periodic eligibility data is received by a communicationsinterface related to the insurance customer's eligibility for a mobiledevice disabling technology related premium discount. Eligibility datamay be in the form of information associated with a mobile devicedisabling technology such as provided by a device 320 shown in FIG. 3.Eligibility data may be in the form of a user selection of a mobiledevice disabling technology, such as through the user interface shown inFIG. 3. Eligibility data may be received at inception of a policy or ata later date such as renewal or other time that a user or policyholdermay install and use such a mobile device disabling technology on theirmobile device while driving. Eligibility data may be received on aperiodic basis, such as every month, every 3 months, every 6 months, orother period.

At 530, the eligibility data is processed in a processor to determine adiscount level from the plurality of discount levels. The eligibilitydata such as an identification of the mobile device disabling technologyselected may be compared to a database of mobile device disablingtechnology, their relative weighting or effectiveness and correlated toa certain discount. In one embodiment, the most restrictive mobiledevice disabling technologies such as those that completely disable anyuse of a mobile device while driving are according a category ratingthat corresponds to the largest discount available, such as a 10%discount in a range of 1-10% of available discounts. The discount of1-10%, or other range, may be off a premium for a policy term, such as 6months or a year. The discount may be applied to an entire premium, orto one or more components of a premium. The discount may be calculatedbefore other discounts are calculated, or after other discounts havebeen calculated. Comparatively, the discount associated with a minimallyrestrictive mobile device disabling technology, such as a technologythat allows use of the phone and simply converts text to speech may beaccording a 2% discount. Other ranges of discounts are contemplated suchas a range of 0-20 percent and a variety of mobile device disablingtechnologies may be associated with various specific discounts dependingon the effectiveness or restrictiveness of the mobile device disablingtechnology. A text blocking technology, with no blocking of voice orsocial media, may be provided an intermediate discount. Technology todetermine whether the mobile device is in a car may also be correlatedwith lower or higher discounts. For example, GPS based blockingtechnology may have a higher discount level than accelerometer basedblocking technology. In embodiments, a same mobile device disablingtechnology having user-selectable settings will be considered asmultiple technologies of differing effectiveness, depending on theuser-selected setting.

At 540, the discount level determined is transmitted by thecommunications interface to a device of the insurance customer. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1, insurance data system 110 may transmit tothe mobile device 170 the determined discount shown in table 190. It iscontemplated that the discount level may change during the lifetime ofan insurance policy as during renewal time or other period where themobile device disabling technology selected may be changed or removed.For example, if the user changes to a more restrictive or effectivemobile device disabling technology then the discount may increase andconversely if the user changes to a less restrictive or effective mobiledevice disabling technology, the discount may decrease. Responsive toreceiving data indicative of technology removal, the system may removethe discount, terminate the discount for an entire policy term or on aprorated basis for a remainder of a policy term, or terminate thediscount at a next renewal. The insurance system may be configured torequest additional eligibility data at a renewal for the insurancepolicy. The additional data may include technology log data indicatingwhether the technology has been active at all times, software versiondata, third party carrier data verifying that the insurance customerdoes not have additional mobile device service not subject to thetechnology, and other data. The user's actual use of the mobile devicedisabling technology may also affect the discount provided and if it isdetermined that the mobile device disabling technology is installed butnot in use, the discount may be reduced or eliminated. For example, asshown in FIG. 4, during a periodic phase 410 d, the installation and/oruse of the mobile device disabling technology may be verified. Thediscount may be eliminated for an entire policy term, or the discountmay be prorated.

Referring to FIG. 6, a table is shown that represents an automobilediscount insurance database 600 that may be stored, for example, withindatabase 118 shown in FIG. 1 or database 224 shown in FIG. 2 Database600 may include, for example, entries identifying certain data andinformation related to administering and managing automobile discountsfor certain mobile device disabling technologies. For example, databasemay also define fields 610, 620, 630 and 640 for each of the entries.The fields 610, 620, 630 and 640 may, according to some embodiments,specify: mobile device disabling technologies 610, rating categories620, discounts levels 630 and premium pricing information 640. Theautomobile discount insurance database 600 may be created and updated ona periodic basis or in real time as information related to the fields ofmobile device disabling technologies 610, rating categories 620,discounts levels 630 and premium pricing information 640 change such aswhen new mobile device disabling technologies are available.

Referring still to FIG. 6, the rating categories 620 may be, forexample, insurance company-specific alphanumeric codes identifying aparticular rating or indicia that correspond to a determined or aperceived effectiveness of the corresponding mobile device disablingtechnology 610. In embodiments, the effectiveness rating categories maybe industry-standard, maintained by third parties, or other embodimentsother than insurance company-specific. Technologies may be assigned toeffectiveness categories manually or automatically using algorithmsrelating technology features to effectiveness categories. Premiumpricing 640 may be dependent on such a rating category 620 and theassociated discount 630. The discount is greater for greatereffectiveness ratings. For example, in the illustration of FIG. 6, aninsurance premium 650 is calculated or determined by multiplyingdiscount 660 with a calculated total yearly premium for the user.

Premium discounts may depend on a variety of other factors in additionto the type and effectiveness of the mobile device disabling technology.For example, the premium discount may depend on driver age, with thediscount being greater for age ranges having a greater likelihood oftexting, such as 19 and under, 20-29, and lesser discounts for greaterages. Discount may be affected by the rating of the type of user thathas implemented the mobile device disabling technology. For example, aso-called higher risk driver that is using a mobile device disablingtechnology would be granted a relatively greater discount than a lowerrisk driver that implemented the mobile device disabling technology.

Premium discounts may depend on other factors indicative of likelihoodof driver use of mobile devices while driving. For example, premiumdiscounts may vary by gender, commuter use (as reflected in insurancepolicy data) vs. pleasure use, educational level of drivers, and otherdata. In embodiments, the insurance company data may include time of dayand day of week data when a driver is driving; data as to frequency oftexting during particular times of day may be correlated and greaterdiscounts provided to drivers who drive more during periods of greatertexting or other mobile device use. In embodiments, discounts may begreater based on such factors as levels of risk associated with times ofday and days of week driving, areas and roads in which a vehicle isdriven and weather conditions while driving. By way of example, a driverwho drives at higher risk times of day and days of week, or on higherrisk roads or in higher risk areas, may qualify for a greater percentagediscount than a driver with corresponding lower risk driving habits.Discounts may also vary based on the duration the mobile devicedisabling technology is active during a specific trip. For example, thelargest applicable discount is applied when the mobile device disablingtechnology is active for the entire trip duration whereby only a halfthe largest applicable discount is applied when the mobile devicedisabling technology is active for only half of the trip.

In embodiments, as disclosed for example, in commonly assignedapplication Ser. No. 12/641,025, a mobile device may be configured withan application and connected to an onboard diagnostics port connector orother connector to a vehicle computer system for exchange of data andinstructions and other purposes, and the application may further beconfigured to disable one or more user communications capabilities upondetection of a connection to a vehicle computer system, or responsive toreceipt of data indicative of vehicle motion, a vehicle being in a gearother than park, or other parameters, detected via an onboard connector.In embodiments, the discount may be eligible only subject to mobiledevice connection to the vehicle computer system, and full or partialdisabling of capabilities of the mobile device as described herein.

In embodiments, one or more other policy terms may be altered inaddition to or as a substitute for premium discounts. For example, foruse of mobile device disabling technologies, deductibles may be reducedor eliminated, accidents and/or speeding or other traffic violations maybe forgiven without premium increases, additional coverages or featuresmay be provided without premium increase, policy term may be extended,coverage limits may be increased, and other modifications andadjustments may be made to one or more insurance policy terms.

FIG. 7 shows an example computing device 710 that may be used toimplement features describe above for processing, selecting anddisplaying business product and coverage recommendations in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. The computing device 710 mayinclude a peripheral device interface 712, display device interface 714,a storage device 716, a processor 718, a memory device 720, and acommunication interface 722. Computing device 710 may be coupled to amobile display device 724, which may be separately coupled to orincluded within the computing device 710. In operation, computing device710 is configured to receive and transmit a number of data flows viacommunications interface 722 including, for example, mobile devicedisabling technologies related data 730, discount data 732, verificationeligibility data 734 and computed premium data 736. In one embodiment,the computing device 710 and the mobile display device 724 are anintegrated device such as a mobile device or an automobile based devicesuch as an on board navigation/telematics type system In otherembodiments, the computing device 710 and the mobile display device 724are separate devices that communicate with one another via Bluetooth orotherwise. In such embodiments, the mobile device disabling technologymay be functionally integrated between both devices. For example, themobile device may be linked to the automobile's on board systems to helpimplement the mobile device disabling technology.

The peripheral device interface 712 may be an interface configured tocommunicate with one or more peripheral devices. The peripheral deviceinterface 712 may operate using a technology such as Universal SerialBus (USB), PS/2, Bluetooth, infrared, serial port, parallel port, and/orother appropriate technology. The peripheral device interface 712 may,for example, receive input data from an input device such as a keyboard,a mouse, a trackball, a touch screen, a touch pad, a stylus pad, and/orother device. Alternatively or additionally, the peripheral deviceinterface 712 may communicate output data to a printer that is attachedto the computing device 710 via the peripheral device interface 712.

The display device interface 714 may be an interface configured tocommunicate data to mobile display device 724. The mobile display device724 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a handheldcomputer, monitor or television display, a plasma display, a liquidcrystal display (LCD), and/or a display based on a technology such asfront or rear projection, light emitting diodes (LEDs), organiclight-emitting diodes (OLEDs), or Digital Light Processing (DLP). Thedisplay device interface 714 may operate using technology such as VideoGraphics Array (VGA), Super VGA (S-VGA), Digital Visual Interface (DVI),High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), or other appropriatetechnology. The display device interface 714 may communicate displaydata from the processor 718 to the mobile display device 724 for displayby the display device 724. As shown in FIG. 7, the display device 724may be external to the computing device 710, and coupled to thecomputing device 710 via the display device interface 714.Alternatively, the display device 724 may be included in the computingdevice 710.

The memory device 720 of FIG. 7 may be or include a device such as aDynamic Random Access Memory (D-RAM), Static RAM (S-RAM), or other RAMor a flash memory. The storage device 716 may be or include a hard disk,a magneto-optical medium, an optical medium such as a CD-ROM, a digitalversatile disk (DVDs), or Blu-Ray disc (BD), or other type of device forelectronic data storage.

The communication interface 722 may be, for example, a communicationsport, a wired transceiver, a wireless transceiver, and/or a networkcard. The communication interface 722 may be capable of communicatingusing technologies such as Ethernet, fiber optics, microwave, xDSL(Digital Subscriber Line), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)technology, wireless cellular technology, and/or any other appropriatetechnology.

An instance of the computing device 710 of FIG. 7 may be configured toperform any feature or any combination of features described above asperformed by user devices 130 and 170 as described with respect toFIG. 1. In such an instance, the memory device 720 and/or the storagedevice 716 may store instructions which, when executed by the processor718, cause the processor 718 to perform any feature or any combinationof features described above as performed by the web browser module 134.Alternatively or additionally, in such an instance, each or any of thefeatures described above as performed by the web browser module 134 maybe performed by the processor 718 in conjunction with peripheral deviceinterface 712, display device interface 714, and/or storage device 716,memory device 720, and communication interface 722.

Alternatively or additionally, an instance of the computing device 710may be configured to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the insurance data system 110. In suchan instance, the memory device 720 and/or the storage device 716 maystore instructions which, when executed by the processor 718, cause theprocessor 718 to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the interface module 112 and/or theinsurance rules module 114. In such an instance, the processor 718 mayperform the feature or combination of features in conjunction with thememory device 720, communication interface 722, peripheral deviceinterface 712, display device interface 714, and/or storage device 716.

Alternatively or additionally, an instance of the computing device 710may be configured to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the web site system 120. In such aninstance, the memory device 720 and/or the storage device 716 may storeinstructions which, when executed by the processor 718, cause theprocessor 718 to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the web application module 122 and/orthe HTTP server module 124. In such an instance, the processor 718 mayperform the feature or combination of features in conjunction with thememory device 720, communication interface 722, peripheral deviceinterface 712, display device interface 714, and/or storage device 716.

Although FIG. 7 shows that the computing device 710 includes a singleprocessor 718, single memory device 720, single communication interface722, single peripheral device interface 712, single display deviceinterface 714, and single storage device 716, the computing device mayinclude multiples of each or any combination of these components 712,714, 716, 718, 720, and 722 and may be configured to perform analogousfunctionality to that described above.

Although the methods and features described above with reference toFIGS. 1-7 are described above as performed using the examplearchitecture 100 of FIG. 1 and the exemplary system 200 of FIG. 2, themethods and features described above may be performed using anyappropriate architecture and/or computing environment. Although featuresand elements are described above in particular combinations, eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with orwithout the other features and elements. For example, each feature orelement as described with reference to FIGS. 1-7 may be used alonewithout the other features and elements or in various combinations withor without other features and elements. Sub-elements of the methods andfeatures described above with reference to FIGS. 1-7 may be performed inany arbitrary order (including concurrently), in any combination orsub-combination.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for providing a mobile device relateddiscount to an insurance customer for an automobile insurance policyissued by an insurance company, comprising: one or more data storagedevices storing a database having data related to a plurality of mobiledevice disabling technologies and a plurality of discount levels; and aninsurance rules processor configured to: receive data from the insurancecustomer indicative of the insurance customer's selection of one of theplurality of mobile device disabling technologies; correlate theinsurance customer's selected mobile device disabling technology to oneof the plurality of discount levels; determine an insurance premium forthe insurance policy based on the correlated discount level; transmitthe determined premium to the insurance customer; and periodicallyverify use of the selected mobile device disabling technology.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein periodically verify user of the selectedmobile device disabling technology comprises communicating with a thirdparty wireless service provider to verify use of the selected mobiledevice disabling technology.
 3. The system of claim 2, whereincorrelating the insurance customer's selected mobile device disablingtechnology to one of the plurality of discount levels is based on aneffectiveness rating assigned to each one of the plurality of mobiledevice disabling technologies, the effectiveness rating being stored inthe database.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein a greater effectivenessrating corresponds to a greater discount.
 5. The system of claim 2,wherein the mobile device disabling technologies comprise at least twoof a text blocking technology, a text to speech technology and a GPSbased blocking technology.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein thebusiness logic processor is further configured to verify the insurancecustomer's selection on a periodic basis by receiving a communicationfrom the customer's mobile device.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein thediscount levels range from 1 percent to 10 percent off a total premiumfor a policy term.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the insurance rulesprocessor is further configured to receive periodic discount eligibilitydata.
 9. The system of claim 6, wherein the eligibility data is anidentification of a mobile device disabling app.
 10. The system of claim1, wherein the discount is in addition to any other applicable discountfor the customer applicable to the insurance policy.
 11. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising requesting additional eligibility data at arenewal for the insurance policy.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein theinsurance rules processor is configured to receive data indicative of aremoval of the disabling technology, and to terminate a discountresponsive to receiving data indicative of removal of the disablingtechnology.
 13. A computerized method for providing an automobileinsurance discount to an insurance customer by an insurance company, themethod comprising: storing data in one or more data storage devicesrelated to a plurality of insurance policies, a plurality of mobiledevice disabling technologies and a plurality of discount levelsassociated with each of the plurality of mobile device disablingtechnologies; receiving by a communications interface periodic customereligibility data related to the insurance customer's use of a mobiledevice disabling technology; processing in one or more processors theeligibility data to determine a discount level for the insurancecustomer from the plurality of discount levels; and transmitting by thecommunications interface the discount level to a device of the insurancecustomer.
 14. The computerized method of claim 13, further comprisingcomputing by the one or more processors a discount level based on theduration the mobile device disabling technology is active on a trip. 15.The computerized method of claim 13, wherein periodic customereligibility data is received at least every 6 months.
 16. Thecomputerized method of claim 13, wherein periodic customer eligibilitydata is received at least a renewal time for the insurance policy. 17.The computerized method of claim 13, wherein the mobile device disablingtechnology is configured through a mobile app.
 18. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions adapted to be executed bya computer processor to perform a method associated with determiningdiscounts for automobile insurance policies, said method comprising:storing data related to mobile device suppressing technology data andpolicy premium discounts; receiving eligibility data related to a mobiledevice suppressing technology associated with a user; assigning adiscount based on the mobile device suppressing technology; determininga policy premium based on the discount assigned; and transmitting thepolicy premium to the user.
 19. The computer-readable medium of claim18, wherein the instructions further cause a computer processor toperiodically validate the mobile device suppressing technology.
 20. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein periodically validating themobile device suppressing technology comprises receiving an electroniccommunication from the user.